St. Paul Resident Allegedly Misrepresented That He Was a CPA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Justice Department filed suit in federal court today,
seeking to enjoin Nash Sonibare and Liberty Financial Group, located in St.
Paul, Minnesota, from preparing federal income tax returns. The civil suit,
filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleges that
Sonibare prepares federal income tax returns for customers that contain false
or inflated deductions and credits. According to the complaint, Sonibare has
prepared an estimated 3,373 returns since 2002 that have caused an estimated
loss to the U.S. Treasury of over $8 million.

The complaint alleges that many of Sonibare’s customers are recent immigrants
from various African countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nigeria,
Ghana, and Cameroon. As many of his customers have limited English-language
skills, they are unaware that their tax returns are being prepared claiming
false deductions and credits.

“People who prepare false income tax returns and claim bogus refunds are
violating the law,” said Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the
Justice Department's Tax Division. “They are harming not only their customers
but all law-abiding taxpayers.”

The lawsuit also asks the court to order Sonibare to give the Justice
Department a list of his customers’ names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and
Social Security numbers.